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Written Question
Coeliac Disease: Prescriptions
Tuesday 8th October 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a national gluten-free prescribing scheme for England to avoid variation in prescribing policies across different Clinical Commissioning Groups.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.


Written Question
NHS: Pensions
Monday 9th September 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of requests by NHS professionals to the NHS Business Services Authority to provide them with an accurate and up to date pension statement have been responded to in a timely manner in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Answered by Chris Skidmore

The NHS Business Services Authority can provide ‘on demand’ Pension Savings Statements (PSS) to members on request. This is not triggered by a member breaching the annual allowance, but instead by the member requesting a statement. ‘On demand’ statements should be provided by the NHS Business Services Authority by the later of three months from the date of request by the individual or by 6 October following the end of the relevant tax year. However, this is dependent on the NHS Business Services Authority receiving the relevant data from the Employing Authority such as pensionable pay.

The NHS Business Services Authority cannot exclusively identify healthcare professionals but confirm that during the period of 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 it provided NHS Pension Scheme members with 17,187 ‘on demand’ PSSs of which 13,393 were completed on time.


Written Question
Parkinson's Disease: Research
Monday 9th September 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is funding research on higher rates of (a) anxiety and (b) depression in people with Parkinson’s.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Parkinson’s disease and mental health. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Information on individual projects funded by the NIHR can be found at the following link:

https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/

NIHR support for research into Parkinson’s was nearly £15 million since 2015. This includes studies looking specifically at Parkinson’s and mental health such as the ‘Antidepressants Trial in Parkinson’s Disease (ADepT-PD)’ and the ‘Personalised Care for People with Parkinson’s Disease: PD Care’ study. NIHR infrastructure has supported 169 studies into Parkinson’s disease since 2015.


Written Question
General Practitioners
Monday 10th June 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether safeguards are in place to ensure that patients' rights to continuity of care with their named GP will be protected in the new Primary Care Network contract, published in March 2019.

Answered by Seema Kennedy

The new Primary Care Network arrangements will not prevent patients seeing their preferred professional at their practice. The core general practice contract will still include a requirement for each contractor to ensure that for each of its registered patients, there is assigned an accountable general medical practitioner (an ‘accountable GP’).


Written Question
Podiatry
Friday 22nd February 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that there are sufficient community podiatry services to meet demand in (a) Huddersfield and (b) England.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

Podiatry services in Greater Huddersfield are provided by Locala Community Partnerships as part of a wider community services contract commissioned by Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group.

Following a public consultation process undertaken in 2017, Locala has made a number of changes to the service to ensure that it is able to meet the current and predicted future demand. This will mean that those patients whose feet have been assessed as 'at risk' or people with significant podiatry need will be eligible for treatment by Locala Podiatry Services and will ensure those patients with the greatest clinical need and highest risks are seen at the right time, every time.

Locala have publicised the changes widely to service users and to local general practitioner practices. Those who are not eligible for the service are being provided with advice and guidance on foot care and signposted to alternative services including Huddersfield University Foot Clinic, independent podiatrists, and to a new nail cutting service which is being delivered by Age UK.

To address the shortfall in podiatrists nationally, NHS England has supported the development of bespoke recruitment campaigns for clinical professions where needed within any workforce shortfalls – this has recently included a focus on podiatry. Health Education England monitor closely the provision of training places and take up to support capacity provision.

Within community services, and podiatry services specifically, measures are in place to help review and improve services against targets for foot hygiene. National audit data is published through reports such as the National Diabetes Foot Care Audit which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/clinical-audits-and-registries/national-diabetes-foot-care-audit

The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit enables all diabetes footcare services to measure their performance against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people with diabetes who develop diabetic foot disease.


Written Question
Podiatry
Friday 22nd February 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on people's foot hygiene of recent changes in the level of podiatry services available.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

Podiatry services in Greater Huddersfield are provided by Locala Community Partnerships as part of a wider community services contract commissioned by Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group.

Following a public consultation process undertaken in 2017, Locala has made a number of changes to the service to ensure that it is able to meet the current and predicted future demand. This will mean that those patients whose feet have been assessed as 'at risk' or people with significant podiatry need will be eligible for treatment by Locala Podiatry Services and will ensure those patients with the greatest clinical need and highest risks are seen at the right time, every time.

Locala have publicised the changes widely to service users and to local general practitioner practices. Those who are not eligible for the service are being provided with advice and guidance on foot care and signposted to alternative services including Huddersfield University Foot Clinic, independent podiatrists, and to a new nail cutting service which is being delivered by Age UK.

To address the shortfall in podiatrists nationally, NHS England has supported the development of bespoke recruitment campaigns for clinical professions where needed within any workforce shortfalls – this has recently included a focus on podiatry. Health Education England monitor closely the provision of training places and take up to support capacity provision.

Within community services, and podiatry services specifically, measures are in place to help review and improve services against targets for foot hygiene. National audit data is published through reports such as the National Diabetes Foot Care Audit which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/clinical-audits-and-registries/national-diabetes-foot-care-audit

The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit enables all diabetes footcare services to measure their performance against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people with diabetes who develop diabetic foot disease.


Written Question
Podiatry: Huddersfield
Friday 22nd February 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of NHS podiatry services in Huddersfield.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

Podiatry services in Greater Huddersfield are provided by Locala Community Partnerships as part of a wider community services contract commissioned by Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group.

Following a public consultation process undertaken in 2017, Locala has made a number of changes to the service to ensure that it is able to meet the current and predicted future demand. This will mean that those patients whose feet have been assessed as 'at risk' or people with significant podiatry need will be eligible for treatment by Locala Podiatry Services and will ensure those patients with the greatest clinical need and highest risks are seen at the right time, every time.

Locala have publicised the changes widely to service users and to local general practitioner practices. Those who are not eligible for the service are being provided with advice and guidance on foot care and signposted to alternative services including Huddersfield University Foot Clinic, independent podiatrists, and to a new nail cutting service which is being delivered by Age UK.

To address the shortfall in podiatrists nationally, NHS England has supported the development of bespoke recruitment campaigns for clinical professions where needed within any workforce shortfalls – this has recently included a focus on podiatry. Health Education England monitor closely the provision of training places and take up to support capacity provision.

Within community services, and podiatry services specifically, measures are in place to help review and improve services against targets for foot hygiene. National audit data is published through reports such as the National Diabetes Foot Care Audit which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/clinical-audits-and-registries/national-diabetes-foot-care-audit

The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit enables all diabetes footcare services to measure their performance against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people with diabetes who develop diabetic foot disease.


Written Question
Patients: Personal Property
Tuesday 19th February 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2018 to Question 184407 on Patients: Personal Property, if the NHS will put in place additional procedures to ensure the protection of the personal effects of (a) vulnerable inpatients and (b) patients with dementia.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

Guidance has been provided to National Health Service organisations in England on the secure management of all patients' property. This includes the process for documenting patients’ property, transferring patients and discharging patients.

Patients should be advised of their rights and responsibilities with respect to property taken onto the NHS organisations premises.

In addition to the information provided in the previous answer, NHS England is actively engaged with the Department and other key stakeholders in drafting the user guidance stemming from the Mental Capacity Act (Amendment) Bill. This is likely to contain information on the handling of personal effects for those patients without mental capacity and will be cascaded to all NHS Standard Contract holders once finalised. Further information is available on NHS England’s website at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/safeguarding/our-work/adult-network/

NHS England together with the Department have also published guidance to support implementation of the ‘red bag’ scheme which supports an efficient and safe transfer process from care home to hospital, while also ensuring greater protection for residents’ personal items. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/quick-guide-redbag-hospital-transfer-v1.pdf


Written Question
Fibromyalgia
Monday 28th January 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support families with members who have fibromyalgia syndrome.

Answered by Steve Brine

The Department is committed to making sure people with long term conditions receive the personalised care and support they need. Where suitable, loved ones and carers should be involved in tailoring care options.

Last summer the Department published a Carers Action Plan, setting out a cross-Government programme of targeted work to support carers over the next two years and will also ensure a clear focus on carers in the forthcoming Adult Social Care Green Paper. The Department is clear that planning for people with long term conditions should involve loved ones and carers. The aim is supporting carers to provide care as they would wish, and to do so in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing.

As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, NHS England is taking action in range of areas to improve the care treatment and support provided to people with neurological conditions including rolling out the NHS Comprehensive Model of Personalised Care across the country, reaching 2.5 million people by 2023/24.


Written Question
Dementia: Social Services
Tuesday 15th January 2019

Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what provisions have been included in the forthcoming green paper on social care reform to enable access to quality care for people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

The upcoming Green Paper will bring forward proposals to ensure we have a social care system where people including those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia know that the care they receive will be to a high standard and help them to maintain their independence and well-being.